Stronger Every Time
by Akanesi
Summary: Jack thinks on the subject of his team. Who still has any life to go back to? "The people who battled the creatures from hell at work and went home to half lived lives."


This was Torchwood; Jack's team. The people who fought the aliens and protected the earth. The people who battled the creatures from hell at work and went home to half lived lives. These people were cut off from reality but more a part of it than ever, knowing that one wrong move could mean that they wouldn't return to home to their flat, where they would sit and ponder the day's happenings. Torchwood lived for the moment, the hope that somewhere down the line; some unimaginable beauty of an alien race would present itself.

First there was Owen. Closed up and obnoxious, but with a fragile interior, hidden by deep seated emotional scars. There was no reason for Jack hiring him. Owen was a broken individual, who had just lost his fiancé. Someone that was so unstable would be terrible for the role of alien doctor.

But maybe it was the fact that Owen had lost so much. Jack may have been drawn to the feeling of emptiness. Owen had lost the one thing that he cared about and Jack may have seen a common design in them both.

Maybe Jack took pity on him. Saw a human being that had suffered far beyond its measure and took pity, showing him the world that had taken his life and his love. Jack was always in two minds whether to do this or not. On one hand Owen deserved to know but on the other it might drive him insane. There had been some very dear friends of Jack that outside of Torchwood, unknowing, had been vibrant and joyful but when Jack, overridden by feeling, wanting to share something amazing, showed them, they were too shocked to even think about the possibilities. They just shut it out, and with it everything that made them, them. That was why Jack thought twice about introducing anyone to Torchwood. They had to be of the right character, strong and able bodied, but with nothing left to lose. Owen had been perfect in this part. He had nothing left in the world that he called his own. Nothing he needed and nothing he wanted; just the darkness.

Then there was Tosh. She had suffered as Owen had but in a different way. She was a brilliant scientist and strong minded. Jack didn't think twice about hiring her. He just waited. Testing her on her scientific skills and then on her resilience, he put her through hell. But he needed to know that she was strong enough.

Although she was a brilliant scientist, what finally made Jack make a move was pity. No one deserved to be stuck in a cold dark cell for all eternity, even if they had committed treason. When he saw her, in the uniform of a prisoner, hunched low in her chair, scared for her life, he felt his heart break and for one moment he hated man kind. How could they do this to their own? Wasn't it enough that they would soon be killing species across the galaxy? Why bother with your own?

She's one of his strongest members now, though she never showed her personality beyond her enclosed, reserved self. She devoted her life to her work, throwing herself into every new project like her life was dependant on succeeding. Jack had never known any human who had so much commitment. Who had to be forced to go home at the end of the day? It was almost a blessing to him that someone could have a life as empty as his that they would want to stay in the hub.

Tosh was also someone that he could talk to. Someone that would just listen and accept whatever he told her, no matter how dreadful. Tosh was someone that he could turn to, some that he knew he could rely on. And he knew that she would do anything to look after the ones she cared about and he therefore felt safe when she had to make the decisions and he hoped the other recognised how lucky they were too.

Thirdly there was Ianto. When Jack first met him the word stalker came to mind. Ianto was, even then, a solid presence at the best of his mind. Jack didn't know why he didn't hire Ianto strait away. Here was someone who could do all the nasty jobs and had volunteered for them. Here was someone who had experience in the field of aliens, who had tracked Jack down, saved his life and practically begged him to be let in.

It was probably because Jack wanted Ianto to prove himself, which he did with the pterodactyl. And it was as if Ianto had been made for their team. He immediately blended in. Ianto had to work hard to gain the trust of the others, who hadn't even heard of this man, until he turned up out of the blue and got a job.

There was something there, between Jack and Ianto from day one. Jack knew that much. He was drawn to Ianto when they first met and he will always remember that image: Ianto in tight jeans that he never seems to wear any more with a stylish leather jacket, breathing hard.

And it was as much Jack trying to prove himself to Ianto than Ianto trying to prove himself to Jack that followed. It was definite high point when Jack took on that pterodactyl and landed neatly in Ianto's lap. It was also good whenever they went Weevil hunting together. Let's just say that they didn't get much hunting done. If truth be told they never even made it out of the car.

Lastly there was Gwen, who through her own intuition found them, again and again. Jack supposes he should have expected it from a well trained police officer but after all the years of dealing with incompetents, he really wasn't prepared for a bright one.

His major worry about recruiting her was Rhys. He had looked up her files long before she told him about her boyfriend ad Rhys was a potential weakness. He didn't know how long Gwen would keep silent and how long it would take fort he relationship to collapse. He was surprised when it continued past the cyber woman but not so surprised when she turned to Owen for comfort, something that Rhys could not give. When Owen and Gwen ended he didn't dwell on it too much. It was a Torchwood affair. It wasn't the first and it won't be the last; certainly if he was here.

But there was an innocence about her that he wasn't comfortable with. He told her to hold onto her life but each day he showed her things that pulled her away from it just that little bit more. Because before she joined Torchwood, even though she was in the police force, Gwen lived in a fairy tale. She had her shining knight in armour, her dream job and a life. That was being torn away from her.

This was Torchwood. The fighters, the soldiers, the protectors of earth. Sometimes they win, sometimes the lose. Sometimes there are casualties and sometimes everyone lives to see another day. Sometimes people find out what they shouldn't and sometimes secrets are bottled up. Sometimes they betray one another but they always come back, stronger every time.

This was Jack's team, and he was proud.


End file.
